It is time to make your opinion known as the 7th annual SportsBusiness Journal/SportsBusiness Daily Reader Survey is underway. The survey features more than 100 questions across leagues, teams, facilities, sponsorship, media, labor and more.

■ Which company does the best job aligning with college sports?
■ Which naming-rights deal will be the most effective?
■ Which facility is in the greatest need of renovation or replacement?
■ What is the biggest threat to sports?
■ What's the best sports event to attend?
■ Which agent would you want to negotiate your next contract?
■ Which property has the best digital strategy?
■ What's your favorite sports app?

Those are some of the questions you'll find in this year's survey. Cast your votes and then see highlights of the results the week of Nov. 28. We want to hear from you. Vote now!

Former Apple CEO STEVE JOBS, who passed away yesterday after a lengthy battle with cancer, "affected athletics in many ways," according to Patrick Dorsey of ESPN.com. The iPhone had a "massive effect on sports, helping athletes get into all kinds of social media shenanigans and build their respective brands." And "let's not forget what this type of gadget means to fans: fantasy, fantasy, fantasy." In addition, Apple's famous Super Bowl XVIII commercial, inspired by George Orwell's novel "1984," has become "a legend in advertising circles" (ESPN.com, 10/5). Walt Disney President & CEO BOB IGER said in a statement, "His legacy will extend far beyond the products he created or the businesses he built. It will be the millions of people he inspired, the lives he changed, and the culture he defined" (THE DAILY).

PITCHING IN: MLB.com's Mark Newman wrote under the header, "Jobs' Innovations Changed Baseball For Better. Apple co-Founder Worked Hand In Hand With MLBAM." Jobs "made it easier and more fun to watch a baseball game." MLBAM has "developed its technology over recent years in close conjunction with Apple, sending mobile developers to the company's Silicon Valley headquarters to help bring Jobs' vision to fruition" (MLB.com, 10/5). MLBAM President & CEO BOB BOWMAN spoke today at the Leaders In Digital Sports Conference in London, and began his presentation with remarks on Jobs. He then spoke with SBJ/SBD on his way back to the airport. "A lot of people leave great things behind. But his legacy is that we now live a life in a totally different way. And he did it with an unyielding loyalty to his consumers. Transformative seems a weak word to describe him. ... My kids, for example, will live a totally different life because of him. To younger people, having connectivity everywhere is as critical as air, and Steve was obviously a major part of that" (Eric Fisher, SportsBusiness Journal).

What I Like …
An insight: Don’t ignore advice from someone you respect.

An influential person in my career: My college track coach, JUMBO ELLIOTT. He made sure running wasn’t our only focus -- that we had balance in our lives and knew that we needed to focus on other things in addition to running.

An out-of-the-box idea: Eight hours of sleep!

A timeless idea: Nothing beats the power of personal relationships.

A business deal: The partnership between InBev’s Budweiser and Goose Island’s 312 beer; a perfect example of a deal where everyone wins. Two great brands that benefit each other: The mass marketer gains my favorite craft beer to extend their line, and the Goose Island folks get better distribution.

A sports facility: Chicago’s Soldier Field, because I grew up going there and because it found a way to modernize while retaining its proud historical roots.

A sports event: Sox vs. Cubs in the summertime.

A strategy: Overdelivering on everything you do.

A hire: Someone who speaks their mind, even if they know it’s not what I want to hear.
A brand: Nike. The brand is clearly defined, easily understood, well-represented in all of its messaging and, most important of all, makes the right connection to the athlete in all of us.

A trend: A return to community involvement and volunteerism. Not just for our race (we are turning away volunteers) but for all the programs and efforts that need manpower.

An innovation: The Nike+ Training System.

A pro league or team business initiative: The creative and custom-made messages in the billboard ads Miller Beer creates relating to every visiting team who plays the Cubs at Wrigley Field.

A story that bears watching: The IAAF’s ruling on women’s world records in marathoning.

A fantasy job: I’d like to be a PGA player, even one not at the top of the money list.

What I Like About …My job: That what I do gives so many different people a common goal to shoot for, a dream they can achieve and a way to accomplish something many thought they could not do.

Sports: The way it brings together friends and family to connect over shared experiences and a common cause (which for us is usually, “Wait until next year!”).

Sports business: It allows me to work and promote an activity that I participated in as a kid, so it’s much more than a job.

Sports media: I prefer the traditional sports media who report, analyze and give context to what took place on the field, not the people who think their every opinion is important.

Sports technology: I love the instant accessibility of results, scores and updates.

The future of sports business: That good things will come to those who remember the everyday fan is the most important one.

Sports fans: Their passion and lifelong loyalties.

What I’d Like To … Change: The extreme polarization of politics in this country.

Change in what I do: Learn how to say “no” more often.

See: More personal communications and less e-mail.

See more of in sports: Championships in Chicago, especially on the south side!

See more of in sports business: A conscious effort to make events more affordable for families.

See less of in sports: Performance-enhancing drugs.

See less of in sports business: Labor issues being fought in public because each side wants to WIN -- just order some pizzas and beer, close the doors and figure it out!

Eliminate: Retro uniforms.

What I Don’t Like …In general: People with hidden agendas.

Pet peeve: People driving 45 mph in the left lane on the highway. It’s the wannabe NASCAR driver in me.

In sports: Absolutely nothing! Well ... maybe the long lines for bathrooms at the ballpark.

In business: Risk management taking priority over all else.

About sports fans: Over-the-top loud and abusive fans.

What I Like ...People: Energy and a strong personality.

That would surprise those who know me: I try to keep up with the KARDASHIANS!

Above all else: My wife, SUE, and my children, SARAH and MATTHEW.

About myself: My approachability.

Heroes: Growing up it was CARL YASTRZEMSKI (hello, look at the last three letters of his name), but now it’s the four athletes who have set world records at the Bank of America Chicago Marathon: STEVE JONES, KHALIDKHANANNOUCHI, CATHERINE NDEREBA and PAULA RADCLIFFE. All magnificent athletes and even better people.

Trips: My job has afforded me the chance to travel all over the world, but I still prefer a five-hour drive with the family to northern Wisconsin.
Movies: “Straw Dogs,” “Glengarry Glen Ross,” “Roadhouse,” “Goodfellas” and “The Way We Were.” Can’t even count how many times I’ve watched these.

TV: ESPN “SportsCenter” and “The Good Wife” (with my wife).

Concerts: The Who at the Spectrum in 1976 and, more recently, BARBRA STREISAND here in Chicago … is the best concert I’ve ever seen.

Artist: JACKSON POLLOCK.

Food: Chicago steaks of any kind.

Dessert: Vanilla ice cream.

Drink: Beer.

Scent: My wife’s chocolate chip cookies.

Vacation spots: St. Germain, Wis., and the Florida Keys.

Car: I drive a 2011 Volkswagen Tiguan. Great for family and work.

Singer: GLADYS KNIGHT.

Quote: “Winning is not a sometime thing. It’s an all time thing. You don’t win once in a while. You don’t do things right once in a while. You do them right all the time. Winning is a habit. Unfortunately so is losing.” -- VINCE LOMBARDI.

Carnes started at adidas as an intern and is now VP/Design for the Americas

In Portland, Allan Brettman profiles adidas VP/Design for the Americas JAMES CARNES, noting the company has "spun out both trend-setting sports gear and chic fashion wear" under his direction. Carnes oversees design in Portland and "keeps track of sport performance design" at adidas "creation centers" in Shanghai, Tokyo, and company HQs in Germany. Carnes, who began with the company as an intern, has helped develop the adidas by STELLA MCCARTNEY sport performance collection for women. He also collaborated with YAMAMOTO at one stage of the development of the style unit, Y-3 (Portland OREGONIAN, 10/6).

NAMES: Former Rays Owner VINCE NAIMOLI donated $1M to Fairleigh Dickinson Univ. for the “Vincent Naimoli Family Baseball Complex,” which was dedicated last Wednesday. Naimoli graduated from FDU's MBA program in ’64 (Bergen RECORD, 10/4)….WAYNE READ, the man who “hoodwinked more than two dozen members” of the Saints organization out of nearly $1.9M “by selling them bogus film tax credits, was sentenced Wednesday to four years in federal prison” (New Orleans TIMES-PICAYUNE, 10/6).

IN MEMORY: TV sports director JOSEPH R. ACETI has passed away at the age of 76. Aceti worked “for all four major broadcast networks on every type of major sporting event,” including the Olympic Games, numerous playoff series, U.S. Open tennis tournaments, NFL and college football, college baseball and ABC’s “Wide World of Sports.” He was also a director for boxing, covering “some 80 major matches.” He started his television career at ABC in '64 and retired in '01” (VARIETY.com, 10/5).